Scottish Executive

Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, when the outcome of the review of Part 5 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 will be announced.

Malcolm Chisholm: Part 5 of the act, which came into force on 1 July 2002, provides important safeguards for adults with incapacity who need medical treatment. At the same time, it brings helpful clarity to a hitherto uncertain area of law for health care professionals who give such treatment.

  Following concerns about some of the procedures introduced by part 5 and the accompanying Code of Practice, the Executive set a review in train last year. This included a written consultation (an analysis of which is in The Scottish Parliament Reference Centre, Bib. number 31350), qualitative research (placed today in The Scottish Parliament Reference Centre, under Bib. number 32709) and discussions with key stakeholders. In the light of these processes, and bearing in mind the relatively short period part 5 has been in force, the Executive proposes two changes to part 5 as follows:

  - to allow health care professionals other than registered medical practitioners to issue certificates of incapacity under section 47, provided they have the necessary expertise to assess capacity.

  - to allow the maximum duration of section 47 certificates to be extended from one to three years, in certain circumstances, for example where the adult has a degenerative or progressive illness.

  These changes to the act will be made when a suitable legislative vehicle becomes available.

  A revision of the Code of Practice has also been set in train to bring greater clarity to current procedures and, within the framework of the act, to facilitate the operation of Part 5. The Section 47 certificate is likewise being adjusted in this sense.

  Enhanced training and education for health care professionals and other stakeholders in respect of part 5 of the act are also being considered.

  Our aim in this review has been to find ways to help improve the operation of this important legislation, while at the same time maintaining its principles and ensuring the continuing benefits and protection it provides for this vulnerable group of adults.

  The Executive believes the measures proposed will serve to this end.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to concerns that the Agricultural Industries Confederation's Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound Animal Feedingstuffs is contrary to free trade directives.

Ross Finnie: The Agricultural Industries Confederation's Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound Animal Feedingstuffs is a voluntary code. Hence the relationship between the code and free trade is not a matter for the Scottish Executive.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated financial impact on Scottish farmers, agricultural merchants and feed suppliers will be of registration with, and obtaining approval from, the Agricultural Industries Confederation in respect of its Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound Animal Feedingstuffs .

Ross Finnie: None. The Agricultural Industries Confederation's Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound Animal Feedingstuffs is voluntary. The question of the financial impact on Scottish farmers, agricultural merchants and feed suppliers of registration with, and approval from, the code is a matter for those deciding to proceed with registration or approval.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on which other European Union countries have an identical auditing control to Scotland in respect of animal feed.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Food Standards Agency has advised me that a comprehensive source of information on EU member states enforcement systems is not available. However, I am advised that in contrast to the system in Great Britain where enforcement for animal feed law is enforced by some 200 local authorities, most member states appear to have a central government body responsible for carrying out enforcement checks often with a regional/local structure. In most other cases enforcement is carried out by a number of public bodies, working together in close union.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of concerns that the Agricultural Industries Confederation's Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound Animal Feedingstuffs encourages the importation of cheaper animal feed from other European Union countries.

Ross Finnie: The Agricultural Industries Confederation's (AIC) Code of Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Compound Animal Feedingstuffs is a voluntary code. The question of whether the code encourages the importation of cheaper animal feed from other European Union countries is a matter for the AIC and those who adopt the code.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is in respect of concerns that other European Union countries are not ensuring that their animal feed suppliers comply with EU directives.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Food Standards Agency informs me that it is not aware of any concerns in respect of other European Union member states' enforcement of animal feed legislation. The EU Commission Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) is responsible for ensuring that Community legislation on food safety, animal health, plant health and animal welfare is properly implemented and enforced across all member states. Any problems in implementation of animal feed legislation across the Community would be highlighted by their inspection programme.

Agriculture

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many instances of contaminated animal feed have been recorded in each of the last five years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Food Standards Agency informs me that over the past five years, there have been four recorded cases of contaminated animal feed in Scotland. There were two cases in 2002 and two in 2003. These cases include contaminated feed entering Scotland from outside the EU, feed entering from other member states and a case of feed produced in Scotland which was subsequently discovered to have become contaminated.

Agriculture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the formula for net farm income is derived.

Ross Finnie: A flow chart explaining how net farm income is derived may be found on page 4 of Farm Incomes in Scotland 2002-03 published by the Scottish Executive. This publication may also be found on the Scottish Executive's website.

Agriculture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how net farm income relates to actual farm income.

Ross Finnie: The relationship between net farm income, cash income, occupiers net income and net profit may be found on page 4 of Farm Incomes in Scotland 2002-03 published by the Scottish Executive. This publication may also be found on the Scottish Executive's website.

Agriculture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what net farm income was in each year from 1999 to 2003.

Ross Finnie: Net farm incomes for the period 1999-2000 to 2003-04 were:

  


1999-2000

£2,900



2000-01

£6,100



2001-02

£10,500



2002-03

£7,300



2003-04

£17,200 (Forecast)

Agriculture

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the calculation of net farm income for 2004.

Ross Finnie: Net farm incomes for 2003-04 will be published towards the end of January 2005.

Air Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the percentage of air travellers from Scotland that use a British Airports Authority airport for (a) scheduled international, (b) scheduled domestic and (c) chartered flights.

Nicol Stephen: The percentages of air travellers from Scotland using one of BAA's Scottish airports are as follows:

  Scheduled international, 76%.

  Scheduled domestic, 93%.

  Charter, 95%.

  The figures are compiled from the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) UK Airport Statistics. Tables 10.1 and 10.2 represent the 2003 annual level. The search facility for the CAA website can be found at: www.caa.co.uk.

Crofting

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average cost is to crofting appellants in respect of settling boundary disputes and apportionment.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive does not hold the information that would be required in order to make an assessment of these costs.

Dentistry

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which dental practices in East Lothian have stopped providing services under the NHS in the last four years and how many patients have lost access to NHS dental checks and treatment as a result of these changes.

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which dental practices in East Lothian provide services under the NHS; how many NHS patients are registered with each of these dentists, and which of these dentists are willing to take on additional NHS patients.

Mr Tom McCabe: This is a local matter and NHS Lothian is in the best position to respond.

Dentistry

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) children and (b) adults in East Lothian are not registered with NHS dentists and whether it has any plans to ensure that NHS dental checks and treatment are available to these people.

Mr Tom McCabe: Information on the number of East Lothian residents not registered with a dentist is not held centrally.

  The Executive has introduced a number of measures aimed at recruiting and retaining NHS dentists. We are also taking a longer-term look at the future of NHS dentistry in Scotland through our consultation Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland.

Ferry Services

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will widen the specification of the NorthLink Orkney and Shetland Ferries Ltd contract to include extending the service to Rosyth and consider creating a direct ferry link between the Northern Isles and Rosyth.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive envisages the continued use of the present routes and ports serving the Northern Isles, as set out in the draft service specification for the Northern Isles Lifeline Ferry Services (Bib. number 32862).

Finance

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when a consultation paper on reform of the laws of personal bankruptcy and diligence will be published.

Mr Jim Wallace: I am publishing today a consultation paper with a draft Bill which proposes wide-ranging reforms to personal bankruptcy and diligence. This meets the First Minister's commitment on 28 May 2003 to consult. The consultation period will run until 30 September 2004. The consultation paper and the draft bill will be available on the Scottish Executive website after 2 July 2004 at:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/bankruptcyanddiligence and

  www.scotland.gov.uk/bankruptcyanddiligence/response respectively.

Freight

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the tariff rebate subsidy scheme has been suspended and, if so, (a) on what date the decision to suspend the scheme was taken and by whom, (b) what consultation was undertaken prior to any such decision, (c) when it will decide whether to re-instate the scheme and (d) what economic impact assessment was made prior to the decision being taken and whether it will be published.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has carried out investigations into the administration of the Tariff Rebate Subsidy (TRS) scheme for bulk freight, following concerns that one or more of the operators in receipt of support under the scheme may not have been complying with its terms and conditions. This investigation started in December 2003 and the processing of claims was suspended pending completion of the investigation, since it would clearly have been inappropriate to continue to make payments in such circumstances.

  The investigation concluded that the scheme was in some cases not being operated as intended. There was however no evidence to suggest that any claims were being made fraudulently.

  Following the investigation we have reviewed the scheme and have concluded that it has not been demonstrably achieving its central objective of maintaining and improving sea transport services serving the Highlands and Islands. We have noted that the great majority of bulk freight transported by sea in the Highlands and Islands does not benefit from bulk freight TRS. Currently only three companies are eligible to claim TRS. Independent consultants commissioned by the Executive some time ago to evaluate the scheme reported that:

  the overall contribution of TRS to economic development in the relevant areas has been very limited;

  it has made only a limited contribution to sustaining bulk shipping capacity in the Highlands and Islands;

  the absolute level of TRS is insignificant compared with the companies' costs and turnover, and

  any reduction in consumer prices (for bulk freight products) will have been slight and it is not clear that TRS support has fed through to reduced prices for the end consumers.

  For all these reasons, we have decided that the bulk freight TRS scheme should remain in suspension. We have paid all outstanding claims to 31 March 2004 but have no plans, at present, to make further funding available under the scheme. The three companies that have been entitled to claim have been advised accordingly.

  We remain very keen to encourage greater use of shipping for freight. In this regard we will be introducing later this year the new Waterborne Freight Grant Scheme to grant aid the operating costs of new shipping routes which remove lorries from roads. Details of the scheme are still being finalised.

Hospitals

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals are still operating mixed-sex wards and, of these, which are used specifically for psychiatric care.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are a small number of mixed-sex wards which do not completely comply with guidelines on mixed sex accommodation at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Stobhill Hospital and the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The Royal Edinburgh Hospital provides psychiatric care. Where a ward in any hospital remains mixed-sex, interim arrangements must be agreed with the local health council to ensure the privacy and dignity of patients at all times.

  A programme of work at Stobhill Hospital should end mixed sex wards by September, while work at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary will be completed by December.

  Provision of a new building will end mixed sex wards at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. However, proposals have been developed and agreed with patient groups and the local health council which will safeguard the dignity and privacy of patients in the current accommodation and this work will be completed by December.

NHS Finance

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to ensure that NHS boards pay for treatments that they purchase from other boards.

Malcolm Chisholm: The new framework for regional planning of health services will set out procedures for paying for services provided by other boards and for an arbitration process in the event that boards fail to agree the financial or other arrangements for the cross boundary provision of services.

NHS Staff

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) consultant neurologists and (b) epilepsy nurse specialists are currently in post.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information on neurologists is collected via the annual medical and dental census and is correct to 30 September each year. Table 1 identifies the number of neurology consultants in post and the number of vacancies at 30 September 2003.

  Table 1 – Neurology Consultants by NHS Board (as at 30 September 2003)

  


Health Board

In Post

Vacancies



WTE

Headcount

WTE

Headcount



Scotland

39.8

45

0.5

1



Ayrshire and Arran

0.2

1

-

-



Fife

1.4

3

-

-



Greater Glasgow

16.9

19

-

-



Lanarkshire

0.4

1

-

-



Grampian

4.3

5

0.5

1



Lothian

9.8

12

-

-



Tayside

4.6

5

-

-



Forth Valley

2

4

-

-



Dumfries and Galloway

0.2

1

-

-



  Notes:

  1. The data are sourced from the annual medical and dental workforce census, and the annual census of consultant vacancies provided by all NHS Organisations, as collated by ISD Scotland.

  2. A doctor may hold more than one appointment. Their appointments may be in more than one NHS organisation, in more than one specialty, or in more than one grade. In this case, they are counted once under each organisation/specialty/grade but only once in the total.

  Table 2 identifies the number of Epilepsy Nurse Specialists working in Scotland broken down by NHS board area.

  Table 2 – Epilepsy Nurse Specialists by NHS Board (as at 30 September 2003)

  


NHS Board Area

Greater Glasgow

Fife

Ayrshire and Arran

Lothian

Tayside

Total



Epilepsy Nurse Specialists
(headcount)

8

1

1

4

1

15



  The information on epilepsy nurse specialists is included within a report, Clinical Nurse Specialists – Results from Pilot Data Collection, published on 28 June 2004. It can be accessed via www.isdscotland.org/workforce and is found within Section E.

Prison Service

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are being held in prison awaiting finalisation of extradition proceedings; in which prisons such people are held; how long each person has been held, and whether any such person has sought interim freedom during initial hearings or appeals and, if so, what grounds were advanced by the Executive for retaining them in prison.

Cathy Jamieson: Four such individuals are being held in custody in Scotland pending the determination of requests for their extradition. It is not Scottish Prison Service policy to disclose the particular prison establishment in which such individuals are being held.

  Two individuals have each been in custody for three years and three months, one for 3½ months and the remaining individual for two weeks. Three of the four have sought bail, one of the three on numerous occasions.

  The position taken by the prosecutor in relation to any application for bail is entirely a matter for the Crown Office which represents the requesting state in the courts. In every case when bail was applied for it was opposed mainly because of the risk of the individual absconding.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-8221 by Nicol Stephen on 10 June 2004, when the phase 1 project at Waverley Station is due to commence and be completed; whether further capacity enhancements are planned for subsequent phases and, if so, what their nature is, what additional services they will provide and when they are scheduled to take place.

Nicol Stephen: Initial planning for the project has begun. Detailed design and development work will commence in August of this year and conclude by November 2005. It is anticipated that the project will be completed by the end of 2007. The project provides a common first stage for further station redevelopment options. No decisions have yet been taken about these options.

Scottish Executive Procurement

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of its business suppliers' invoices have been paid within 30 days of receipt since 1 January 2004.

Mr Andy Kerr: Between 1 January 2004 and 31 May 2004, 86.2% of the suppliers' invoices processed by the Scottish Executive's Accounting System were paid within 30 days of the date of receipt, or within the terms of specific contracts. This compares with 74.8% for the same period in 2003, and 74.4% for this period in 2002, when teething problems with a new computerised financial system led to a drop in levels of performance.

  The Executive is taking a range of steps to improve performance. For example, the roll out of the EaseBuy electronic procurement system will ensure that these payments are made consistently and promptly. For low value ad hoc purchases the Government procurement card operates like a credit card, ensuring that suppliers get paid within a few days by the credit card company, while the Scottish Executive gets a monthly consolidated invoice from the card company. For other items, we have analysed in which parts of the Executive late payments arise, and are tackling those problems.

Veterinary Medicine

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact Agricultural Industries Confederation rules preventing members from buying feed materials from non-members will have on supply of prescription-only medicines and specialist supplements within the veterinary sector.

Ross Finnie: The restraints on the supply of feed materials under The Agricultural Industries Confederation's (AIC) Universal Feed Assurance Scheme do not apply to the use of prescription only medicines as long as they comply with current legislation. (i.e. as long as the products supplied have a UK marketing authorisation). Therefore the rules of this scheme should not affect the supply of prescription only veterinary medicines.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many parliamentary staff will be accommodated outwith the new parliamentary complex at Holyrood.

George Reid: Following migration, approximately 25 staff (on fixed-term contracts, seconded from other organisations or permanent staff filling fixed term posts) will be based at the Tun. This figure will reduce as projects are completed. There are no current plans to accommodate parliamentary staff outwith the new Parliament building after November 2005.

Holyrood

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what arrangements are in place, or are planned, for the accommodation of parliamentary staff outwith the new Parliament building.

George Reid: Following the migration to the new Parliament building, there will be a temporary need to accommodate the remainder of the Holyrood Project Team, the Opening Ceremony Team and some fixed-term staff at the Tun. There are no current plans to accommodate parliamentary staff outwith the new Parliament building after November 2005.

Scottish Parliament

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what steps it has taken to ensure that the founding principles of the parliament have been implemented.

George Reid: The Scottish Parliament Corporate Body strives to ensure all its work is guided by the founding principles of the Parliament.

  For example, in terms of openness and accessibility, since 1999, parliamentary committees have met outwith Edinburgh over 50 times; have undertaken well over 200 fact finding visits in the course of inquiry work, and have under taken over 25 civic participation events.

  Clearly, this open and accessible approach has meant that many Scots have been able to participate in the democratic process.